


Happiness Brewed

by aymaan143



Category: Black Star -Theater Starless- (Video Game)
Genre: Coffee, Coffee Shops, Fluff, Gen, Ginsei get some sleep, Heath is cute, Shinju is a Master Barista, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:40:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27840154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aymaan143/pseuds/aymaan143
Summary: It was to no one’s surprise that Shinju worked a fair number of jobs, but what they were not aware of was just how many jobs he had, and one place they certainly did not expect him to work in was a coffee shop of all places.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. An Unexpected Encounter

“Hello and welcome to Pearlfect Roast! What can I get you for toda----HUH? RIND--ahem..Rindou?” 

“Shinju?? What a surprise, I didn’t expect you to work here!” Rindou said with a slight giggle. He wore a mask and beanie but Shinju could tell it was him easily from the beauty mark right under his eye. 

As if he was given a script, Shinju immediately went off, like he’d been dying to tell someone about this particular job but never had the opportunity to bring it up. 

“This place imports some of the finest beans I’ve ever seen! The smell, the aroma, simply exquisite, and not to mention their various roasting and brewing techniques. It means there’s a blend for practically any palate, maybe even kids! Ah but… I wouldn’t recommend giving kids coffee… hmm, oh but we do serve other beverages too! Hot chocolate, tea, despite our name, and fresh juices too, it’s simply a delight to work here, customers of many types come here and--ah! I’m so sorry I didn’t realise I was talking so much and you hadn’t even given me your order yet--” he said while visibly flustered. 

“W-what can I get you today?”

At this point Rindou could not hide that deep grin he had on his face, having pulled down the mask somewhere during the middle of the conversation and Shinju felt his ears turn red from embarrassment seeing him smile like that. 

“Well now that I can FINALLY tell you my order...I’m just kidding Shinju don’t worry about it… I’ll have a flat white and cheesecake please.”

“Coming right up!” beamed Shinju as he deftly drew up Rindou’s total, accepted the cash and handed him his change, before running to the back and starting up the coffee grinder. Rindou wasn't one to just stand around and watch, he would normally take a seat and wait for his name to be called. Yet something about the whole process of coffee preparation performed by Shinju intrigued him to no end.

By the time he realised his drink was placed in front of him with a warm smile from the barista accompanying it with a cheerful ''Your coffee is ready!" Now it was Rindou’s turn for his ears to turn red as he quickly nodded, thanked him for the drink, picked up the tray, and hurried to a table at the back, where he sat down and started flipping through some reference books. 

Picking up his drink to take a sip, Rindou noticed something peculiar on it, a mildly sloppy latte art of what looked like it could be a gentian, of course Shinju would attempt something he’d never done before in an effort to impress him, that’s just like him. 

  
  



	2. A Caffeinated Wolf

Contrary to what everyone else thinks, Shinju found 5am shifts to be quite enjoyable, many different characters would show up then and it was a joy to serve them and get to observe what they do at such an hour, that is, if they’re not Salarymen trying to catch the subway once it opens to avoid being late for work. While he was used to working at later shifts, it was due to this that he came across a rather familiar face that had wandered in at five fourty three am on a Tuesday.

“Good morning…” Ginsei said with a sullen voice, “I’ll have the usual please..” It was clear he had not gotten much sleep as there were bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess, it probably takes an hour alone just to style it so the difference was quite notable. 

His eyes were shifting around as he dug through his bag for his wallet, not realising it wasn’t his usual barista at the counter. 

“Good Morning and Welcome to Pearlfect Roast! What can I get you this fine morning?” beamed Shinju. It was that familiar voice that startled Ginsei and led him to drop his bag, numerous books spilling out of it. 

“Ah...so this is the reason” Shinju thought to himself, before quickly running across to help him gather his stuff.”

Running back behind the counter, Shinju started up the register as it was his first order of the day. “Apologies for startling you, I didn’t know you came here often? What’s your regular order so I can take note of it for next time?”   
  
For some reason, Ginsei could feel warmth seeping through him through that conversation alone, it must have been the eyes, yup, definitely the eyes.

“This place has a nice atmosphere so I enjoy coming here to indulge in some fine reading, last night I started a new book and it was so good I couldn’t put it down! Oh but by the time I realised it the sun had already come up” he said, mildly sulking. 

“I’ll have a triple shot americano please..”

At this statement, Shinju was startled, to say the least.

“T-t-tRIPLE? Oops sorry my voice..a  _ triple _ ??”

Ginsei felt slightly embarrassed, was it odd to have such an order? He was so tired but he wanted to start the sequel right after and a change of environment would have helped a lot, only coffee could keep him going.

“Oh sorry, my usual barista got used to me ordering it. I should have known it’d startle you.”

With this Shinju immediately composed himself, “No worries! I was merely taken aback is all, it’s normal for people to order doubles but I rarely see people ordering triples around here, I’ll get started on it right away!” Taking the cash Ginsei had already prepared and putting it in the register. 

The smell of espresso wafted through the shop as the first brew of the day commenced, Ginsei felt a warmth envelop him from the aroma alone and as soon as his cup was placed in front of him he felt more awake than ever. 

  
  


As he was the first customer, Shinju was able to relax a little and check up around the place, going to Ginsei’s table every now and then to chat a little.

“We’ve got some fresh bread baking up in the back kitchen, want me to save you a slice to have for breakfast? It tastes best the fresher it is!”. And at that mention Ginsei’s stomach immediately let out a rumble that could easily rival Akira’s scream in Payback.”   
  


Trying to contain his laughter, Shinju proceeded to say “I’ll take that as a yes!” before heading back to prepare it for him. All while Ginsei blushed profusely at his stomach’s betrayal. 


	3. The Sweet Toothed Smoker

_ “ _ **_Clink_ ** _ ”  _ , the all too familiar sound of the bell echoed in the shop as someone made their way in. It had just started pouring outside and the poor soul must have ran into the first place they could find.

“Uwah, it’s so cold! And my jacket’s soaked, oh dear. Guess I better wait it out before heading home…” they said, while shivering ever so slightly. The figure made their way to the counter, maybe something warm would help while they waited.

“Hi Welcome to Pearlfect Roast! What can I get y---Takami?! What a surprise I never thought you came here!” Shinju said, eyes slightly widened. He never took the man for the type to enjoy coffee of all things, but then again people aren’t always what they seem.

“It suddenly started raining and I didn’t have an umbrella on hand, so I thought I might wait it out here and let my jacket dry up a little till it lets up. I never expected you’d work here though, didn’t see you as the type to make drinks and all.”

“Ehehe, I guess I do seem that way huh, well you see the owners here are a really nice couple that like to employ people that could really use the funds, during the summer we get a lot of part timers and Christmas is when the place is really packed! So many people want to raise money to buy gifts and all, but during off seasons it’s mostly just me and 3 other baristas working the floor.” Shinju said with praise in his voice.

“Heeeh, that seems nice, in that case why don’t I order something for the both of us, doesn’t seem like you’ll be getting any customers for the next hour so I’m sure you can afford to take a short break?” Takami declared, but in all honestly he probably would have just found it awkward to sit alone when no one else was there.

“You’d really do that? Then I’ll take you up on the offer~! I’ll have a brewed coffee for myself, and what can I get you?” beamed Shinju.

“I’ll have a caramel macchiato, with five extra pumps caramel syrup, three pumps of vanilla syrup and 2 pumps of hazelnut syrup”

“THIS ISN’T A STARBUCKS TAKAMI--”

“Haha, I’m just joking with you, in all seriousness, I’ll try the iced mocha, extra chocolate and sweet cream.” Takami said, reaching for his wallet in one of his back pockets.

“Oooh, that’s a pretty sweet drink nevertheless, do you dislike the bitter taste or just have a preference?” Shinju asked, typing out the order onto the monitor. Anything else I can get you?

“A smile, please”   
“THIS ISN’T A MCDONALD’S EITHER!”

Circling back to the question, Takami answered “Hmm, I suppose as a smoker my taste buds have gotten accustomed to it, as a kid I didn’t really like sweet things all that much.” paying for the order, he leaned against the counter while waiting for his beverage to be prepared.

“I’ll get started on yours right away!” Shinju said as he hopped on over to the grinder. “Are you a regular coffee drinker? Or do you keep it for occasions only?” he asked, trying to make small talk while preparing the ridiculous drink for his coworker.

“Hmm, well, I’m not much of a cafe person to be honest, I mostly just drink instant at home.”   
  
*Clank* 

The sound of Shinju dropping the Portafilter echoed throughout the place. The poor guy must have been so shocked to hear the word “instant” in such a sacred space.

“I-i-instant… ahaha, well I suppose that’s a lot more convenient for people,, yup, that’s the reason, it’s definitely NOT their choice..haha...instant…….” at this point he was visibly malfunctioning, he must have been shocked to hear that as a barista. 

With their drinks on hand, the two made their way to one of the tables and sat down, it must have been well over an hour worth of conversations before the rain let up and Takami had to head back and customers started coming in.

“Thanks for the company, if you ever need someone to hang out with I’d be more than willing to return the favour, and next time I’ll have more bird pics to show you too.”

  
  



	4. A Regular Customer

_ Pitter patter, _

_ The all too familiar shuffling of footsteps can be heard. _

Shinju enthusiastically turned around to greet the customer. “Welcome to Pearlfect Roast! What can I get you for today?”

“Oya oya, if it isn’t Shinju. I’m here to once again indulge in another one of your exquisite brews.” It was none other than Zakuro. Little did anyone at Starless know, he was one of Shinju’s regular customers.

“Oh Zakuro! It’s great to see you, I take it you’re here to try todays special blend?” Shinju said with much excitement. His coworker here was never the type to stick to one blend and liked to try whatever was special on that day instead. 

“Yes, yes indeed, I trust you shall once again deliver a rather fine cup” nodded Zakuro.

“You're in luck for yesterday we got a small shipment all the way from Guatemala! It's absolutely perfect for espresso, taking one sip you get this  _ hint _ of sweetness and caramel like flavour, but also kind of fruity! Absolutely to die for, I'll whip you up a cup right away!”

“My my, that does sound rather lovely, I do look forward to it” Zakuro nodded once again. 

Completing the transaction, Shinju turned around and swiftly began to work on the beverage, all the while Zakuro watched the fascinating process. Shinju began by warming the cup, this was important so the drink doesn’t cool down as fast. Next he moved onto the grinder, pulling out a bag of freshly roasted beans loading them into it, paying close attention to the grind size he started up the machine and waited for the grounds to carefully load into his portafilter. Once that was done, he pulled the portafilter out and gently tapped it on the table to even out the grounds, then used a distributor to ensure it’s all packed together. To ensure no air pockets are in, he used a tamp to press the grounds down using just the right amount of pressure. Then finally, he spun the tamper on the puck just to smooth everything out. 

  
  


Next he moved to the espresso machine, giving the group head a good rinse just to make sure there’s no leftover particles from the shower head. Inserting the portafilter handle into the group head, he started up the machine and they both stood while watching the liquid concoction slowly make its way down into the prepared and warmed cup, all the while the aroma wafted in the place. The machine stops and Shinju immediately picked it up and placed it onto a tray. He grabbed two amaretti cookies from the tin sitting at the back and placed them onto a small plate along with the espresso.

“You need something sweet with your coffee! These are the perfect fix,” Shinju said with much confidence.

“Oya, that was a rather magnificent sight to behold, I thank you once again for sharing your knowledge with me, with that I shall find myself a seat and enjoy this brew of yours.” 

Carefully sliding the tray over to him and heading to a table in the back. Shinju could watch from afar as Zakuro took his time savouring the cup he made him. It was just as he usually did, but it never failed to make him smile, knowing someone out there has had a better day thanks to something he served them. 


	5. The Sickly MC

_ Shivers _

Health was, without a doubt, cold. Rainy season had commenced therefore temperatures were starting to drop. That particular day had light showers, but Heath still opted to find shelter somewhere to avoid his things getting wet.

The cafe door opened, letting in a small gust of wind that Shinju could feel on the back of his neck. He swiftly turned around to greet the arriving customer, “Welcome to Pearlfect Roast, what can I get you for today? Ah! It’s Heath!”

“Oh, it’s Shinju, hello” Heath greeted him.

“What can I get you? Do you drink coffee? I always assumed you preferred tea,” Shinju started off with the small talk as he set the register up.

“Coffee isn’t to my liking, but I heard this place has good teas so I came here to try some. I was going to the park to write some lyrics but then it started raining…” Heath was mildly sulking. 

“We do indeed have some good teas! What would you like, Black? Herbal? Fruity? This weather is perfect for a Spiced Chai, they taught us how to make it the other day!” Shinju went off, it was like watching a sales person sell their product, but somehow Heath enjoyed hearing about it.

“Aah sorry, I lost track of myself again, so, what will your order be?” Shinju fumbled with a box of tea in his hand.  _ When did he even grab that? _

“The spiced chai sounds interesting, I quite like bold flavours, so I’ll go for that” Heath said as he reached for his wallet.

After paying for his drink, Heath watched as Shinju excitedly prepared it for him. It was like watching a master at work as he finally poured it from a few inches height into the cup  _ while somehow not spilling a single drop.  _

“Doing it this way helps aerate the tea, it took me SO many tries till I got it right, you would not believe how much I spilled... AH don’t worry I practiced with water!” Shinju went on while preparing the tray for everything. “The nice thing about this tea is not only its bold flavours, but the way it somehow just warms you up from the inside!” he went on explaining. Heath could smell hints of cinnamon and clove sneak their way to his direction, and..what’s that, black pepper? “Quite the interesting combination,” he thought to himself. When his order was finally done, Heath went to pick up the tray, only to notice something else on it.

“The brownie is on the house! A treat from me, hope you enjoy the drink!” Shinju said with a beaming smile that could honestly compete with the sun itself. 

“Thank you, I am sure it will be delicious as you were the one who made it,” he said with a soft smile. Shinju felt warmth seep through him from hearing that. One of the many reasons he wanted to be a barista was to witness people’s expressions as they took a sip of something he made, and this was no exception.

Heath sat down at one of the tables in the back, gently placing his tray onto the table, he took a seat and immediately pulled his notebook out. He could feel the inspiration coursing through him, and before he knew it he had an empty cup of chai sitting in front of him and three pages full of lyrics.

It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park (pun intended) but he felt especially motivated that day, writing about anything and everything, the sound of the rain drops gently hitting the window, the hurried footsteps of people of people trying to escape the rain, the smell of coffee being brewed right then and there. It wasn’t exactly a song worth performing to, but it was for sure something he could look back at in future and remember this encounter. 


	6. The Curious Chef

It was Kongou’s day off, and what better way to spend it than to do some “research”. He had heard of this one cafe that really struck with him. The name was familiar, but he had legitimately never heard of it before. Perhaps he’d heard mention of the cafe through locker conversations or maybe an ad somewhere. Nevertheless, he decided to take that day to go out and sample a few of their things. 

Stepping into the shop, Kongou could immediately tell, this place was different. Maybe it was the atmosphere, or the familiar smell of coffee being prepared, it had a bright ambiance to it for a reason Kongou couldn’t even compute. The scent was beginning to tickle his senses so he walked on over to the bakery display to see what whet his appetite the most. 

“Checking out the display? Anything stand out that you're interested in?”

_ That voice… _

“Oh Shinju! It’s good to see you, you work here huh? I should have expected it because sometimes you show up to Starless smelling like coffee.”

“Ahaha, is that so? I guess I got too used to the smell! I didn’t realise it went with me everywhere I went.” Shinju said with a slight giggle. It no longer shocked him when people he knew showed up to the place, perhaps word got out or it was pure coincidence, after all, the place was getting quite the traction lately. 

“Since you’re here I guess it’s easier to just ask, what would you recommend from the menu?” Kongou asked.

“Hmm, well, we have the typical cakes and scones, but the chefs like to try something new almost every month! Lately one of them made espresso buns and they were phenomenal. If I had the option I’d definitely go for an espresso bun and strawberry custard tart, and a mint tea to balance it all out” Shinju suggested. 

“Eh? Interesting, I would have thought you’d recommend a coffee to go with it, but I suppose paired with an espresso bun it would be quite overpowering” Kongou muttered to himself, while making mental notes of everything Shinju said.

✓ Experiment ✓ Change it up ✓ Balance

After pondering for a total of three seconds he finally decided “then I shall take your word for it and order what you recommended.”

“Coming right up!” Shinju said while hopping away from the display case to the register, he punched in the order, accepted the payment and got started on his order.

“You can have a seat anywhere, I’ll bring your food over shortly,” Shinju exclaimed. So Kongou opted to sit on a table as close to the view as he possibly could see, view of Shinju at work that is.

Kongou watched as Shinju picked some fresh mint leaves from a potted plant they had near a window.  _ “Huh I guess that does help cut costs if you grow it yourself.”  _ Running back to the sink he gave it a good rinse before dropping it into a transparent teapot. 

“It’s nice when you can see the colour change and deepen while it brews~!” he said with a smile on his face.

Shinju then grabbed a box of what seemed to be dried green tea leaves, and carefully spooned out a certain amount into the tea strainer before lowering it into the pot. All the while the kettle was boiling the water needed, but it went off right before it reached a boiling point.

“Boiling water is not recommended as it can burn the tea and give a bitter taste too early on in the brewing process~~” He wet the leaves a little before discarding the water, and then poured more into the pot. As the leaves began to infuse, Shinju proceeded to grab the sweets from the display case, the strawberry taste was given a light dusting of powdered sugar and a side serving of fresh strawberries, while the espresso bun got a dusting of cocoa powder.  _ “Of course, coffee and chocolate go so well together.”  _ Kongou thought to himself.

When two minutes passed, Shinju placed a nice teacup onto the tray and poured out the now steeped tea into it, he set the cutlery and plates down and skipped over to Kongou’s table.

“Your order is here! Enjoy.”

Kongou gave a light nod before taking his phone out.  _ “I suppose this is fine for future references”  _ he thought to himself, and snapped a few photos on his device. What intrigued him the most was the expresso bun, which looked like a large bread bun, but brown, he decided the best way was to eat it with his hands, so he picked it up.  _ “Woah it has a cookie like exterior, this is interesting.”  _

As he had no expectations, he had no idea what it could possibly taste like, but taking a bite he immediately picked up the scent of coffee, crunchy cookie layer that tasted like it was dunked in espresso, soft pillowy bread on the inside, and whipped cream on the inside; truly an experience in a single bite. He looked on over to the barista wiping the counters, who flashed a smile at him as if he knew  _ “It really is that good”.  _ Before he knew it he had polished off the whole thing, no regrets. Taking a sip of the tea, he could understand just why it worked, the light herby taste balanced out the density and sweetness of the bun, almost making it seem like he had no guilt after eating it. 

When he was done with his meal, he took the tray back to the counter, something he got used to doing. Shinju was still there, but practicing latte art.  _ “Are those gentians, because if so he's got some work to do…”  _

“Please send my regards to the chef that made this, it was truly a magnificent experience eating it, I’ll be sure to come again next time they make something new.” Kongou promised.

“Of course! You are welcome here any time, Kongou.” Shinju said while flashing his signature smile. 

**Author's Note:**

> Their drink choices are mostly headcanons that I discussed with friends, apologies if anything comes off as OOC, I just wanted to have fun with this c:


End file.
